The judge said the public advocate, Letitia James, failed to “exhaust administrative remedies” by going to court rather than waiting for the New York state education commissioner’s review, according to a spokeswoman for Ms. James.

Ms. James filed suit in December seeking to block dozens of co-locations of both charter and public schools that had been approved by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration approved most of the space sharing arrangements, but in February revoked space for three Success Academy charters, saying they mixed elementary children with high school students and would displace some special needs students. Read More »

Homeless families deemed ineligible for shelter in New York City will now have more time to leave city shelters, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration said on Tuesday.

In the past, families that received temporary shelter and were later deemed ineligible were given four hours to leave a city shelter. Under the new policy, a family deemed ineligible will be able to stay the night and leave the following morning.

Families will also be given an agency checklist to help them better understand why they have been deemed ineligible. The city is also setting up a phone line to answer shelter applicants’ questions. Read More »

Ms. James, a council member since 2003, and her campaign told The Wall Street Journal in July that she was 50 years old when she was really 54. For the past 12 years, nearly all media reports that reference her age have been wrong.

When asked about why she gave a reporter a younger age, Ms. James asked the reporter, “Would you ask a man his age?” She declined to comment further, other than to say she is 54. Read More »

Councilwoman Letitia James speaks about the NYPD stop-and-frisk tactic in February 2012.

New York City Council Member Letitia James appears to be the early favorite in the race for the Democratic nomination for public advocate, but with a majority of voters undecided the contest remains wide open, a new survey from The Wall Street Journal-NBC 4 New York-Marist showed.

Among registered Democrats, including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate, Ms. James has support from 17% of the electorate, followed by Catherine Guerriero, a university professor and small-business owner, at 16%, the poll showed.

State Sen. Daniel Squadron, who has been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, trails with 8%, followed by Reshma Saujani, a former deputy public advocate, at 4%. In 2010, Saujani unsuccessfully sought to unseat U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, losing that bid with less than 20% of the primary vote.

In the public advocate race, 54% of respondents said they were undecided. The poll of 689 Democrats has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points. Read More »